Things got a bit...emotional at the Panthers' press conference announcing the release of long-time quarterback Jake Delhomme. According to the AP, GM Marty Hurney called the decision to part ways with Delhomme one of the toughest he has ever made, choking up at one point, while head coach John Fox was unable to restrain the tears while taking questions from reporters.

While this type of sentimentality is rare in professional sports nowadays, it's also, sadly, a reminder that letting one's emotions get in the way of business decisions is not good for business. Fox and Huerney obviously share quite amount of regard for Delhomme, who led the team to its only Super Bowl berth, but in recent years they seem to have let those feelings get in the way of making a sober assessment of Delhomme when his abilities were clearly waning.

In an era when loyalty between player and team is largely an obsolete concept, it's unfortunate to see such a glaring example of why this is so.